Grow Wild My Child

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Fixing Award Mistakes

When we study the ancient and medieval manuscripts to learn the styles and forms, we are usually seeing the very best. These are the pieces that were most valuable, most treasured, and handled with the most care over the centuries between. Sometimes we forget that art and calligraphy was created by artists of a range of abilities, mistakes happened, even to some of the best scribes of the times.

We will still make mistakes today, but all is not lost. I have met many people who won't try any form of scribal because they're afraid they won't do it right or will make mistakes. We WILL make mistakes! We're all human! But, how we deal with mistakes can display historical techniques that only add to the character of the scroll. All is not lost! In the very worst case scenarios, lessons are learned!

Parchment and Vellum: historically, the hides of animals were used for books, most often calf or sheep. The process of creating these pages was very long and laborious. When the hide is stretched on a frame to be scraped to its thinnest layers, the tiniest misstep could lead to the development of a hole. Depending on where this whole occurred, it might not be repairable. But the parchment was so valuable, that they were still sometimes used if the hole wasn't too big. We have surviving evidence of the creative ways scribes and bookbinders incorporated these holes into the art of the book. Some were worked around, some painted around, and others were laced together in delicate and colorful patterns.

Uppsala University Library, 14th C.

Paper: Now we most often paint on paper. The thicker the paper we use, the fewer paper issues occur and the easier they are to fix. Warping can occur when too much water is applied to the paper. Aside from tempering water quantity, one preventative measure is to tape all edges of the paper to the table to keep it taught while painting. If your paper does warp, you can press it between two large books for a few days. By sandwiching the paper between two clean towels, you can even iron your paper, though there is a chance the heat may discolor any pigments used.

Extremely warped and crumpled paper. Ironing with a little spritz of water got it quite flat again, with the only ridges from the places where the paper had creased. Although this does give a somewhat parchment-like quality if it were slightly discolored!

A difficult situation to address with paper is if there is any tearing. A small tear at an edge might simply be glued or taped from behind. If a tear occurs from abrasion (too much erasing) in the middle of the sheet, you could try a threaded mesh like was done on parchment, or you could try restructuring the paper by wetting, applying paper mash and drying under pressure. This is an extreme attempt and will likely lead to other issues such as warping and inconsistent texture.

Tearing from rough brushstrokes over a wet area. The paper particles were pressed back into place, allowed to dry, covered with a few coats of white paint, and sanded lightly.

When it comes to actually painting our pieces, we run into a new set of mistakes, most of which occur from haste on our part. Both inks and most paints' pigments will soak into and stain paper very quickly. When paint strays from where we want it to go, the best thing we can do is to catch it quickly! With a clean, wet brush, gently "lift" the paint by slightly swirling it up into the brush. Clean the brush and repeat until no more will lift. Try not to spread the color out any more than necessary. If your paper is thick enough, you can then gently scrape the stained paper with an exact knife, however, this can cause tearing or a roughening of the papers texture that will appear as a bigger mistake.

Dark purple splatter of paint, lifting with very wet brush, then lightly scraping some of the pigmented paper off.

Once the area is dry, you can work on covering it up. With fresh white gouache (full opacity and no other colors mixed in) or even white acrylic, layer up thin coats so no texture is evident, and blend out all of the edges of this white into the surrounding paper. Allow each layer to dry completely before starting a new one. If there is some texture from the brushstrokes, sometimes you can gently sand it down when it's all dry.

Dried paint, many coats of white paint with feathered edges. The texture remaining is from trying to scratch off the top layer. I usually omit this step to maintain the smooth surface.

But maybe "erasing" the wayward mark isn't the best choice for your piece of art. A very common practice all through history was to make the mark something else! Maybe that is now the place where you paint a bird, flower, leaf, scroll; something that fits with the rest of your design while covering up the mistake. While I haven't found written proof of this, it is generally accepted that this was the cause of a lot of the marginalia we see in manuscripts. A third option of the coverup variety is a solid color. I've seen the entire outer boarder painted a solid

Some mistakes don’t detract from the award. You’re going to be your worst critic, so ask yourself if you would be happy to receive it? Or ask another scribe? If it doesn’t pass, you have a couple options. First, let it go and learn and grow. Mourn it (or at least the time investment) and call it a learning experience. In some instances there is precedence for cutting out the pieces you like and reformat on a new page, but this isn't generally recommended.

Some issues are specific to calligraphy, and some aren't our fault! Especially if you're like scribes from centuries past who also had feline friends "assisting" them!

Medieval scribes, like us, sometimes forgot letters or words, or they would repeat themselves. While we do see things simply crossed out, there are cases showing inserted letters and words. Sometimes extra creatively, like the lasso pulling a passage into place, or arrows and pointed hands drawing attention to a specific place.

While these hints may help with the inevitable blooper, the best medicine is prevention. Taking our time with the planning and measuring, and following the manuscript order of operations (measure, sketch, calligraphy, illumination, sign, seal, deliver) can be the most effective and preventing mistakes in our art.

Smeared ink below bird

Resources:

1. Piepenbring, D. (11-11-2014) "Damage Control: How to Repair Parchment". Last viewed 9-18-24 from https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/11/damage-control/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social

2. Open Culture (5-14-2024) "Medieval Cats Behaving Badly" Last viewed 9-18-24 from https://www.openculture.com/2024/05/medieval-cats-behaving-badly-kitties-that-left-paw-prints-and-peed-on-15th-century-manuscripts.html

3. O'Daly, I (6-20-2014) "The Beauty of Mistakes" Last viewed 9-18-24 from https://medievalfragments.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/the-beauty-of-mistakes/

4. Asher, J.A. (5-6-2015), "Truth and Fiction: The Text of Medieval Manuscripts." Last viewed 9-18-24 from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/aulla.1966.25.1.002

5. Doyle, K. and Lovett, P. "How to Make a Medieval Manuscript" British Library. Last viewed 9-18-24 from http://res.tigerge.cn/%E8%A1%A5%E5%85%852%20How%20to%20make%20a%20medieval%20manuscript.pdf

Monday, September 9, 2024

11th C. Irish Persona

In the SCA (Society of Creative Anachronisms) we develop a persona we play as. Focusing and learning about who we are (or would have been) during a specific time and place really helps the history come alive. You're looking at real people and how they lived their lives. I decided to do a little write up of my persona and her life. While I have been researching this time and place, I am always learning new things and do not consider this complete, just as accurate as I can with the information I've gleaned so far. Our chosen time has limited records as invaders tried to wipe out the culture and destroy the records.

11th Century Irish Persona

I’m Muirenn inghean Uí Cléirigh, born in 990 in Connacht in what is now known as Ireland. It is a beautiful place, with temperate northern climate, though the Romans count it too cold. From my home I can see rolling hills covered in grasses for our cattle, craggy cliffs, patches of forests and streams beyond the lake that our crannog is on. I was born in a neighboring clan to the south, and married Eoghan and we now have two children, Finn (named from the legendary Fionn Mac Cumhaill) and Onóra. Eoghan inherited this family home and we work to keep it comfortable. There are no large villages near us, but we have heard of the Viking settlement of Baile Átha Cliath (“town of the hurdled ford”) from traders where the norse were recently driven out by Brian Boru at his death. It used to be called Eblana (140 AD), and Dubh Linn (black pool) by the monks at the monastery built there. But the Norse were not seen as often on our side of the island, at least not near our clan

Our daily routine is very seasonal, but always includes tending to the cattle, some sheep, quail, and dogs, and our little garden. The calves come in the spring and we get milk from the cows. Sometimes we will hunt for geese or ptarmigan or fish for the river salmon, and often we visit the hedges for blackberries, elderberries or sloe in season. This is also where we would find most of our medicine. In the winter we have more time for making and mending clothing as well as music and games. Finn is teaching us neftafl, a viking game that he learned from the traders. We wear léine and brats, with shoes from our cattle’s hides. I wear my hair braided with a headband. I’ve heard of more prominent women wearing gold balls at the ends of their braids and torcs around their necks. If I find time, I gather local pigments from ochres, woad, oak galls, buckthorn berries and cudbear lichen to sell to the monks at the monastery for their paints and inks. While we are incredibly literate (all of our traditions and stories are oral), we value knowledge and I love the intricate, interwoven designs they create. It reminds me of the way we weave bog reeds into baskets and hats.

During this time, cattle are our main source of currency, though we see coins and jewelry from other lands from the traders. Brehon law is in effect, but we mostly rely on our old ways. My husband and I work together, both free, and women have a good amount of freedom. We are inspired by the women of our stories, Brighid, the Morrighan, and even Maebh who went in battle against Cu Chulainn. Our battles are usually smaller cattle raids today. Our fighters wear flexible clothing and fight with axe and sling. Our closest leader is Tag in Eich Gil, and we hear that Pope John XIX is leading the Christian Church, though we only hear of him at Cong Abbey where Saint Feichin built the church a few generations ago. When I was young, Munster raiders burned that place down, but the High King of Ireland, Turlough More O’Connor refounded it. It’s currently being established as an Augustinian settlement.

My goals in life would be to be able to feed our family well and see our children’s children. And bask in every celebration such as hand fastings, seasonal festivals, and new births!

Monday, July 8, 2024

Quick Garden Pickles for War

Last week, our family joined our SCA kingdom in a war against our neighboring kingdom. Fighters took to the field in their heavy armor beneath the summer sun and fought for their homeland and glory. And when it was over, we were there with water and pickles!

Pickles (the vinegar pickle juice in particular) has been found to be very beneficial to athletes and those who work in hot environments. Not only do they provided needed electrolytes to better utilize the water you drink, they also can reduce muscle cramps! While cucumber pickles are lovely, it was fun to switch it up with this fun giardiniera, or garden veggie pickles.

Passing out pickled veggies on the battlefield sidelines between scenarios

While you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, I chose carrots, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and cauliflower. The bell peppers were probably in the highest demand, but they all seemed to disappear rather quickly!

Ingredients for 1 gallon:

~6 large carrots, sliced 1/4” or less

~1 head of cauliflower

~3 bell peppers, sliced in 1/4” strips

~1-2 onions, sliced in 1/8” strips

~5 cloves of garlic sliced thin

Brine:

~2 c. Apple cider vinegar

~4 -5 c. water

~4 tsp. Salt

~4 tsp. Sugar

~1/4 c. Pickling spices (the one I use contains coriander, cinnamon bark, mustard seed, ginger, fenugreek, bay leaves, dill seed, red peppers, cloves, fennel seeds, black pepper, and allspice.)

Bring brine ingredients to a boil in pot on stovetop. Fill four quart jars evenly with veggies. Once brine has boiled and allowed to cool slightly, pour evenly over veggies, ensuring all are covered with the liquid. You may add more vinegar or water as needed. Make sure all spices make it into the jars as they like to stick to the pot. Cover and allow to cool at room temperature overnight, then place lids and refrigerate for up to 4 weeks.

Also good on the feast table

For more reading on the benefits of pickles, see this article from Cleveland Clinic: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/6-health-benefits-of-drinking-pickle-juice

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Historic Paints on Metal

June 15, 2024

Muirenn inghean Uí Cléirigh (Katie Kelm)

As far back as ancient Greece (900-31BC), soldiers began to carry elaborately painted shields. As time went on and helmets obscured identities in the middle ages, some armor-wearers with the resources to do so started to paint their helmets as well as their shields with their personal devices. This practice spread to the rest of their armor and continued into the Renaissance. But how did the paints that were perfected for manuscripts and frescoes work on the plate metal?

The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast paints that would have been available in the middle ages as they function on metal. In reviewing the results, those who wear armor might make informed decisions as to the method they choose to use in making their period paint. Nine different paint types were used for this experiment: water, full egg, egg yolk, glare, linseed oil, hide glue, egg tempura, gouache, as well as a modern acrylic paint to compare.

Materials: For all of these paints except the modern acrylic, a roughly powdered, gold ochre from Curtin, Oregon, USA was used. They were applied to an abraded tea kettle base to mimic the texture and curve of plate armor elements. It should be noted that nearly every recorded recipe for any one of these paints differs slightly from each other. Each artist has their own preferences of texture and function. In this experiment, relatively simple but documentable versions of each paint formula was used, but may be adjusted to suit need.

Process: To begin I made a Gesso base layer to paint over half of the surface in order to compare the difference between a bare surface and one with a foundation. The gesso was created by combining equal portions of hide glue (may also use fish glue) as a binder and chalk (calcium carbonate, may also use slaked plaster) as an inert pigment. To this, a drop of honey was added as a humectant to increase smoothness and plasticity. These were mulled together until mixed, but for future projects I would recommend mulling more thoroughly, until the consistency of softened butter.

To mull, a hard flat surface (tempered glass cutting board) is needed in addition to a muller. Intentional mullers may be purchased from glassworkers, but a flat topped, glass, electrical insulator accomplishes the same results. First make a small pile of your dry materials in the center of the board and create a little well in the center. Into this well pour your liquid ingredients. With the flat surface of your muller, grind the materials against the board in small, ever-widening circles to blend and further reduce the particle sizes. If it becomes too spread out, use a palette knife or spatula to bring the solution back to the center and repeat. This process can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour, depending on how smooth you want your final product to be and the hardness of your dry materials. This process is used to create all the paints as well.

After application, the paints were allowed to dry 48 hours before being tested. Adhesion was determined by how well they adhered to the metal and covered the area. Durability was tested in a scratch test done by wooden chopsticks, a drop of water applied by fingertip, and flexibility by being hit with a rattan sword.

Once the gesso was dry, I began creating paints and painting two patches on the kettle of each type: one on the bare surface and one over the gesso. The most simple paint was first, which is simply water mulled into the ochre powder. As seen in the furthest left image above, the coverage was decent once it dried. However, it readily shed large patches as you can see in the scratch test in the center, and it immediately dissolved in a drop of water.

The simple water paint over gesso performed in almost exactly the same manner, although it didn’t scratch off quite as easily.

The next set of paints include eggs. To begin these, I first needed to separate the egg yolk from the whites. With the whites I then processed into a glair as pictured above. The purpose of this process is to create a solution with uniform consistency that can last quite a long time. In fact, it is considered to improve in quality as it ages. To make glair, whip egg whites until they create stiff peaks. Tilt container and allow to settle. This may take anywhere from a few hours to a full day. A slightly yellow liquid will accumulate at the bottom that should pour off apart from the remaining froth. This is glair. Some recipes call for a drop of honey for increased elasticity or a drop of vinegar for preservation purposes.

Paint made from eggs is considered very strong, but can crack over time. Although I excluded adding honey for these tests, it may be added to all the egg-based paints to increase elasticity and longevity. Above shows the glair paint (made by mulling glair with ocher powder) on the bare metal. The adhesion was relatively minimal. Multiple layers helped but only where it did not wipe off the previous layer with the brushstrokes. The second image shows the scratch test removing the full area and the last image shows some lifting with the water test.

The glair over gesso adhered slightly better. No paint came off in the scratch test, and the scratches can barely be seen. However, it did lift with the application of water.

The egg yolk adhered thickly and consistently, even over the bare metal and took a second coat without dislodging the first. It did readily scratch from the unprimed surface, but was unmoved in the water test. The increased fat content of the yolk increases its ability to repel water.

Over the gesso layer, the yolk performed even better. It adhered well and could barely be scraped off in the scrape test. It also showed the same water repelling properties in the water test. This is the first mixture that I could imagine being used as a relatively sustainable and viable metal paint process.

The next paint is called full egg, but it was made by combining the yolk and the glair together with the ochre. While it adhered comparatively on the bare metal, the scratch test performed similarly to that of the glair, removing a whole section, and the water solubility of the glair caused some lifting in the water test.

These characteristics were improved with the whole egg paint over the gessoed metal. The adhesion was more uniform, the scratches were almost imperceptible, and the water only slightly lifted the paint.

Linseed oil is made from pressed flax seed. It was used to make oil paints beginning in the late middle ages and through the renaissance. While boiled linseed oil is fairly readily available, artists during this time were known to let it “harden” between 2 to 20 years to increase the viscosity. I went into this next test knowing it would be a thinner paint and may not fully dry. This swatch, pictured above, was allowed to dry 48 hours before testing. The oil is effective in saturating the color of the pigment, causing it to appear darker. In the test seen above on bare metal, the adhesion is expectedly thin and scratches off quite easily. However, because of the nature of the oil, it was very resistant to water.

Despite its thinness, the oil paint adhered surprisingly well to the metal with the gesso layer. Its scratchability also improved slightly and water resistance remained the same.

Next up, the hide glue was tested, first on the bare metal. Hide glue is often used for its added strength and adhesion. I did cover the bare metal fairly uniformly, and only was scratched at the absolute edge of the chopstick. However, since it is a water soluble solution, the pigment was lifted during the water test.

On gessoed metal, the hide glue performed even better. While possibly slightly less uniform, I was unable to scratch the pigment off at all. It did still lift in the water test, so this might work as a decent temporary paint.

Now we come to the egg tempera paint. This paint was the most popular formula to be used for frescoes and panel paintings as well as a number of manuscripts. It is known for its spreadability and durability. In my test photos, there are two swatches in each. This is because my first proportions were unbalanced, leading to an especially dry paint. After adding more of the liquids, the texture was my favorite of any of the paints that I tested. It went on so smoothly and thick where it adhered.

To make tempura paint, mull pigment powder with equal parts whole egg and linseed oil. Adjust as needed. On bare paint, the refined consistency (lighter colored paint swatch on the right of each individual photo) applied very smoothly and showed great coverage. While it did scratch off, it stuck to itself. This lifting may be due to fresh oil and not entirely hardened dry. The paint was completely waterproof.

On the gessoed side of the kettle, the tempura didn’t stick quite as well, perhaps due to the coarseness of the surface. But where it was thick enough, it spread on smoothly and evenly as before. Only one stroke of the scratch test lifted the paint, and it maintained its resistance to water. This is the second paint I would recommend for metal armor.

One of the most common paint-making methods for medieval scribes is gouache, which mulls the pigment with dissolved tree resin. Gum arabic seems to have been used the most in surviving manuscripts, though there is documentation of the use of other stone fruit trees such as cherry and plum. While the gouache adheres well enough to parchment and paper, it is evident in the first photo how it is already pulling away from the bare metal. It easily scratched off and quickly dissolved into the water applied.

Painting the gouache over the gesso greatly improved its adherence and it was so strong, I was surprisingly unable to scratch it! The gouache is still water soluble, though. This would be my top choice for a temporary armor paint.

Finally, I decided to test modern acrylic paint in the same manner. This is a plastic based paint that is often used by modern reenactors for its ease of use and durability. Though this paint had very small pigment particle size in comparison the ones I made, it did not have very consistent coverage when applied in a similar thickness onto the bare metal. It partially scratched off and, though it’s waterproof, quickly sloughed off the metal when water was applied.

The gesso base only improved its performance slightly. Adherence was about the same, and the scratch did not go all the way through the paint, though some still lifted with the water.

Finally, an overview of all the methods on modern paper. It’s interesting to note that the ones that did the poorest on the metal appear the most appealing on paper. The kettle was hit repeatedly with a rattan sword, and all of the paints maintained enough flexibility to avoid cracking. This aspect is likely to deteriorate with time.

Conclusion:

Different paint making methods are useful for different applications. For a strong, temporary metal armor paint, the gouache over gesso or hide glue over gesso would probably be the method of choice. But for a long lasting paint that will not drip away with rain, sweat, or the blood of enemies, you will probably have a more enduring paint with the egg tempura or the yolk paint over gesso. An additional overlay of egg may further increase the paint’s longevity. Further study topics may include any improvement using more finely ground pigments or non-rock pigments as well as the effects of using well hardened linseed oil or aged glair.